‘Very unfair’: Victoria Azarenka reacts to being booed off court at Wimbledon

One of the world’s biggest tennis stars has hit out at the Wimbledon crowd after copping a brutal rebuke.

Belarusian tennis star Victoria Azarenka has called the Wimbledon crowd’s reaction “very unfair” after she was booed off court, having lost to Ukrainian Elina Svitolina.

Azarenka and Svitolina played out an epic fourth-round match on Sunday, local time, with Svitolina eventually wining 2-6 6-4 7-6. She claimed the final set tiebreak 11-9.

As Azarenka left the court, boos rang out from the crowd.

The Belarusian government, led by President Alexander Lukashenko, is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most steadfast allies, despite the invasion of Ukraine.

That led to Belarusian players joining the Russians in being banned from Wimbledon last year. The controversial decision prompted tennis’s governing bodies to strip ranking points from the celebrated grand slam.

Svitolina has a blanket policy of not shaking the hands of Belarusian or Russian players, and she did not shake Azarenka’s hand after their match, though the Belarusian did raise a hand to acknowledge her.

Victoria Azarenka leaving Court 1. Picture: Glyn Kirk/AFP

Speaking during her press conference after the defeat, Azarenka was blunt with journalists.

“How disappointed were you with the reaction as you walked off court?” a reporter asked her.

“What do you think? What did you think how was the crowd?” Azarenka responded.

“I would imagine you're very unhappy,” said the reporter.

“No, but what do you think,” she said. “How do you think the crowd was in the end? What’s your opinion?”

“I thought that was very unfair,” said the journalist.

“Hmm. I think we agree on that,” said Azarenka.

Another reporter asked about Azarenka’s “relationship” with Svitolina, saying there seemed to be a degree of “healthy respect” between the pair.

“My relationship with her? What? Like, throughout our lives, or what?” said Azarenka.

“You can start there and talk us through to now, and after the match,” said the journalist.

“I think you raised your hand (at the conclusion of the match). She sort of looked at you. There was an element of respect there, I think. I wanted to know your opinion on that, what you felt it was like.”

“I think that you guys are picking on every single move and making such a big story out of that. There really is no point to do that,” said Azarenka.

“I have known Elina for a very long time. I’ve always had a good relationship with her. And the circumstances, they are what they are, and that's it.

“I don’t think that talking about every little gesture makes any difference, or is a big story. I’m not saying you particularly. But a lot of people keep talking about it like it’s, I don’t know, changing somebody’s lives. Which it’s not.

“So the bigger you guy are making it, the longer it’s going to be a conversation. So in my opinion, it’s not a conversation that has any substance.”

Victoria Azarenka during her post-match press conference.

Asked whether she was “surprised” by the crowd’s reaction to her, given it had not been “that hostile” until the end of the match, Azarenka said she wasn't sure people had fully understood “what was happening”.

I can’t control the crowd,” she said.

“It’s probably been a lot of Pimm’s throughout the day.

“What we agreed on – it wasn’t fair. It is what it is. What can I do?”

“It did seem that they didn’t understand that you weren’t the aggressor, as it were, in the situation. It was Svitolina who was not going to shake your hand. You seemed to acknowledge each other, yet the crowd turned on you. You’re almost the victim here, aren’t you?” a reporter asked.

“Victim? Victim, because someone didn’t shake my hand. Please,” said Azarenka.

“The crowd booed you when you hadn't done anything wrong,” said the journalist.

“Yeah, I feel it’s been pretty consistent for the past 18, 19 months. I haven’t done anything wrong, but keep getting different treatment sometimes,” said the player.

“But what can I say about the crowd? There is nothing to say. She doesn’t want to shake hands with Russian, Belarusian people. I respect her decision. What should I have done? Stayed and waited? Like, there’s no thing I could do that would have been right. So I just did what I thought was respectful.

“But this conversation about shaking hands – if you guys want to keep talking about it, bringing it up, making it a big deal, whatever it is, keep going. I thought it was a great tennis match. If people are going to be focusing only on handshakes or the crowd, quite a drunk crowd, booing in the end, that’s a shame.

“It was a tennis match. Nobody's changing lives here, we are playing tennis. We are doing our jobs. That’s it.”

During her press conference, Svitolina was asked whether she thought it was “right” that she “should have been playing someone from Belarus in the first place”.

“Well, last year it was a clear message from Wimbledon. This year it was changed because of a different kind of pressure,” the Ukrainian said.

“I don’t really support the change.”

Elina Svitolina.

“Were you surprised by the hostility directed towards Azarenka?” a journalist asked.

“Well, as I mentioned, each player that loses, and there is no handshake, is getting booed, I feel like,” said Svitolina.

So I don’t know. If today would have been a different reaction if I’d lost, I don’t know. I cannot really answer this question.”

“I think the crowd maybe thought that she was the one who wasn't shaking your hand,” said the journalist.

“I already said multiple times that, until Russian troops are out of Ukraine and we take back our territories, I’m not going to shake hands. So I have a clear statement,” said Svitolina.

“I don’t know how more clear I can be.”